Wednesday, 19 March 2014

It's been a while since I posted about what's going on in the South of France and as usual there is quite a bit this year. I have made a start with listing some of the main events and will add more as the information becomes available. So bookmark this post and share it on social media.

Listed by date

Jan - April 2014

You will need to be quick if you want to go to the Limoux Festival because it runs from Sunday the 26th January 2014 through to Sunday 6th April 2014. There is still a bit of time, but it is rapidly running out. You can find out more about the festival here - Carnaval de Limoux.

8th June 2014 - there is another big day approaching for our little village of Issel, the 'Fete Medievale Des Potiers Et De L'Artisanat' is going to take place again as each year is more successful than the last. The streets will be dressed in medieval style and the festival will be going all day. There will be a 13th century hangman, knights, fencing demonstrations and ancient crafts. Artisans will be displaying their glass, pottery, embroidery and more. This year there is also going to be a falconry display to delight the young and old alike. You can keep up to speed on the organisation and news of the fete by following their Facebook page.

May/June 2014, three days of feasts and music in the streets of Gruissan. All ages come together in this festive environment known as 'Les Festejades Gruissan'. More detail will be available via the link when they have updated it for 2014, but in French I am afraid. Still showing 2013 at the time of writing, but they will get there eventually, it's France after all.

19th June - 1st August 2014, the festival of Carcassone offers a variety of entertainment and cultural events that take place both in the medieval walled city and the 'Ville Basse' throughout the summer months. These include free modern music, jazz, circus, theatre and classical music shows. For a full program of musical and other events, the paid variety, which this year includes Elton John, James Blunt, Lana Del Rey, Vanessa Paradis, The Jackson and many more you can use this link to the Festival of Carcassonne Program. They describe the events much more eloquently than I can and it is in English.

One little problem if, like me, you were hoping to see Madness perform, I am afraid you will be disappointed. They just cancelled and refunds are now being offered on the tickets.

13th July 2014, There should be a fireworks display in the 'Grande Bassin' Castelnaudary, a precursor to Bastille Day and La Cite ablaze in Carcassonne. The fireworks start after the parade at 10.30p.m. in honour of National Day, but probably worth getting there at 10.00p.m. just to make sure, or earlier if you want to see the parade. Eventually you will be able to go to Castelnaudary Tourist Office for further details.

July 2014, Festival of the Bastide in Carcassonne, this revolves around Bastille day the 14th July. A fabulous experience for anyone interested in French culture. The festival of the Bastide runs alongside the Festival of Carcassonne well known to the arts scene for its combination of opera, dance, theater and music events that take place throughout the summer months.14th July 2014, La Cite Ablaze in Carcassonne is the big event of the Festival of the Bastide where you can see one of the best firework displays France has to offer and it commemorates the original burning of La Cite back in 1898. The banks of the river Aude will be awash with spectators and every viewpoint available will be taken by the time the display starts at 10.30p.m. It's best to park on the outskirts of the town and walk in to facilitate a reasonable exit time when the show is over.

22nd July 2014
The Tour De France, stage 16, starts in Carcassonne this year as they head off towards Bagneres Du Luchon. I personally prefer it if you can watch them arrive, but unfortunately the day before is a rest day, so they actually arrive in Nimes before being transported to Carcassonne for the next day. You can get all the details here at the official site for the Tour de France and who would have thought they would be starting in good old Yorkshire in the UK, wouldn't it have been good if they let them ride through the Channel Tunnel :-)

August 2014
On the 8th August there is another lovely firework display that takes place over the Lac De St Ferreol, close to Revel. It starts at 10.30 p.m. The combination of fireworks and a beautiful lake are well worth the effort and for those that like a bit of a party there is a disco after that starts at 11.00 p.m.

Wednesday 27th August - Sunday 31st August 2014, the 14th fete du Cassoulet will take place around this last week of August with 7 days of celebration and eating of cassoulet, a haricot bean based casserole with Toulouse sausage, duck and pork as the usual ingredients. Everyone will be getting out their blue and white striped shirts for the festivities. This is the official website for the Fete du Cassoulet

Saturday 4th October - Hazel O'Connor is on tour and singing at the 'Abbaye Ecole de Soreze'. Tickets are 15 euros and you can find out more via this link http://hazeloconnor.com/aes She will be accompanied by Clare Hirst who played saxaphone for David Bowie and Sarah Fisher who played piano for the Eurythmics. Having experienced a night listening to Hazel at one of her shows just recently, I can highly recommend this. You will not be disappointed and if you are like me then you will definitely be buying the CD after the show.

Vide Greniers

You can find all the planned Vide Greniers for Aude and any other department in France using this link. Also you can visit our other page on this blog for information on all the local French food markets that operate throughout the year.

Boat Trips & Cycling the Canal Du Midi

For a nice easy boat trip down the Canal du Midi you can hop on a 'bateau' down at the quay in Castelnaudary, the boat leaves daily at 2.30p.m. for a quiet chug along the canal and back that takes about 2 hours, but there are a number of other options available which you can find out about at Bateau Promenade "Le Saint-Roch" or by phoning +33 (0)4 68 23 49 40

Unfortunately the cycle hire that used to be next to the boat has now gone, so the nearest place for cycle hire is on the Toulouse road close to Labastide d'Anjou, going from Castelnaudary just turn left at the 'Poteries de Naurouze' and look for 'Velos Severac'. So if you fancy a morning or afternoon cycling along the Canal Du Midi, you know where to go.

If you prefer to hire your own boat for a short trip then boats can be hired from Castel Nautique for 2 to 8 people on an hourly basis or for 1/2 days. Visit the website for more details or call on +33 (0)4 68 76 73 34. they are located near to Bram which is about 30 minutes drive from Le Moulin.

Cinema

The 'Halle Aux Grains' now operates as our local cinema and they often show English language films with French sub-titles, especially when they have a British film festival on (Festival Britannique) which this year is the 11th to the 13th April with the following films on offer:

Saving Mr Banks

Mississippi Burning

Fame

Slumdog Millionnaire

Mary Poppins

Now I Live Now

12 Years a Slave

So if you fancy a bit of film buffery, French style, why not pop along. You can stay up to date on the films being shown via their Halle Aux Grains Facebook page.